The Gulf of Gdańsk (Zatoka Gdańska) is a bay in the south-eastern part of the Baltic Sea, between Poland and Russia. The average depth is approximately 50 m and the maximum depth is 118 m. Water clarity varies from 8 to 16 m depending on the season. The salinity of the bay varies between 7 and 8 per mille. In strong storms, waves of over 9 m in height occur.
The largest Polish ports are located in the Gulf of Gdańsk: Gdańsk and Gdynia. In the second half of the 20th century, coastal fishing was still an important activity for some of the Bay’s inhabitants, even off the beaches of Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia, but has now disappeared, partly due to the severe pollution of the Bay’s waters and the decline in fish numbers.
Location of the Gulf of Ganá
The treaty boundary between the Gulf of Gdańsk and the open sea is formed by a line connecting Cape Rozewie and Cape Taran on the Sambia Peninsula.
To the south-east, the Gulf of Gdańsk is bounded by the Vistula Spit. The stretch bounded by the Hel spit and the Hel-Gdynia line is called Puck Bay. North-westernmost part of the Gulf of Puck, on the other hand, is a much shallower body of water where the swell is generally less intense than in the Gulf of Puck. The dividing line is the Tern Sandbank, a sandbank stretching from Kuźnica to Rewa.
Description of the Gulf of Gdańsk
The Gulf of Gdańsk belongs to the area of protected waters. It is the anteroom of the Baltic Sea, a very safe area with a large number of harbours with easy entrances, accessible also for sea yachts.
As the climate warmed in the Holocene, the Gulf of Gdańsk reached even further south. The intensive accumulation of river deposits led to the formation of a plain in the delta of the outflowing river and subsequently to the formation of a geographical area called Žuławy Wiślane, divided into three parts: Žuławy Gdańskie, Žuławy Malborskie and Žuławy Elbl±skie. As a result of the eastward flow of the sea, the Hel Spit was formed.
